Smash Flash Chronicles Act III: The Great Fox Tournament
by Battalion Ice
Summary: After the epic battle between Mario, Wario, and Black Mage, tension is as high as ever when the Great Fox successfully enters into the New World. The strong will have no choice but to rise to the occasion. A powerful pilot is looming in the depths of the unknown waiting to unmake the unsuspecting heroes. Witness the final tournament in the trilogy, the inherent tragedy in heroism.
1. Chapter 1: Speed of Light

**Author's Note:**

 **Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8a, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically.**

 **Have you ever traveled faster than the speed of light? Nothing is faster, you know. At least that's what others would have you believe. After all reasoning is given, is there a greater reason to believe that nothing travels faster than the speed of light, other than the fact that someone told you so? If you never knew you couldn't travel faster than light, would you value the ability to do so? Hyperspeed is just another function of the ship as The Great Fox launches itself through existence. Not exclusively through space. Not exclusively through time. Only through existence itself. Adrenaline flows almost as fast as the vessel. Inside The Great Fox, Fox McCloud struggles to keep self upright.**

"Keep shields high, ROB!" Fox yelled.

"Shields are operating at maximum efficiency. No more precautions can be taken for The Great Fox." ROB 64 assured his supervisor. Fox looked to his camera monitor that monitored the ships deployment chute.

"Captain, are you ready?" Fox asked the pilot on board the vessel within the Great Fox's chute.

"Fox McCloud, _I_ am always prepared." The F-Zero Pilot responded from within his vessel.

"It's possible that you and your ship will be ripped apart by your momentum if we launch you now. Are you sure?" Fox questioned.

"Fox, I am entirely too powerful for this brave new world to allow me into it with no restrictions. I must travel even faster than possible to have a chance at life here. If I can slip past this world's loose definition of reality, I will be able to thrive, given enough chaos. You know what you must do for me, McCloud. And do not question me again."

"Yes sir. Launch it out the bottom ROB."

"Initiating."

 **What would mankind be like without the existence of pain? If there were no such thing as a physical warning system. Everything comes down to survival. And if your body had no immediate alarm to survival threats, would you live differently? Would you live without inhibitions? Would there be such thing as fear, without pain? A thundering rumble strikes Hyrule once again, shifting the stages about. Link and Lloyd are taken by surprise, with experience. The earthquake interrupts their sparring bout. Link begins to fend for himself and run to safety. Lloyd is not agreeable.**

"Rising Falcon!" Lloyd's blade cuts downward through the air toward Link. Link rolls clear.

"Watch it, dunce!" Link shouted, still trying to clear himself of the shaking castle ruins.

"Who said we were done sparring? On your feet elf-boy!" Lloyd continues to charge toward Link.

"You're fucking crazy!" Link jumps up to the ledge that lies near the few remaining standing pillars among the ruins. He climbs up next to them.

"This situations more realistic!" Lloyd shouted before clearing the ledge, bringing his body closer to Link in mid-air. "Tempest!" Lloyd's shouted.

"Shit!" Link blocked with his sword instead of his shield. Lloyd's sword clanged against Link's several times. When Lloyd finally landed, Link got close to his opponent, grabbing both his forearms. "Hiya!" Link headbutted Lloyd and kicked him the gut, following with a rising knee to the face. Before hitting the ground, Lloyd stuck his larger sword in the ground and used the leverage to swing his body back toward his foe. The resulting kick knocked Link on his back. Link looked up from his downed position. "What the hell?" He said softly to himself looking at the approaching Lloyd. Link watched as a stray boulder came flying for Lloyd. Without looking, Lloyd short-hopped, and did a 360 in the air, slashing the rock to bits before it could hit him. _Impressive._ Link thought to himself as he tossed a boomerang at Lloyd and stood up quickly, drawing his bow and arrow in the process.

"Huh!" Lloyd grunted as he deflected the boomerang back at Link.

"Shit!"

 **M** **ortals are inherently ignorant of many of the things that make life possible, anywhere.** **But if you had the choice to** **perceive** **beyond normal restrictions, to see the forthcoming, to sense the invisible. Would you really want that ability? Everything comes with a price. As the earthquake calms in intensity, Kirby calms down enough to come to his senses.**

"Impossible. This cannot be why I was put here. This is not happening again and I am not here to be a built-in alarm! Damn it!"

 **Weakness is an invention of the imagination. So too, is power. In this way, weakness can be converted into power. But this feat, is only accomplished, by the strong and the strong willed. Megaman discovers a small yellow rodent at the central highway. He approaches it with caution at first, as he would with most things in this world.**

"What's this?" Megaman lowered his cannon as he got closer to the rat.

"Pi-KAH!" The rat had a happy expression on it's face. It was a face even Megaman couldn't aim a cannon at.

"I'm almost sure I'm gonna regret this, but-" Megaman knelt down next to the rodent and petted the creature. The animal responded with a calm fidget. "Now what's your name, little creature?"

"Pi-KA-chu." The animal replied with the most appropriate sound it knew.

"Sounds good enough to me."

 **The shaking had since ceased at the Green Hill Zone and it made Tails anxious.**

"How does an earthquake happen in a world with no tectonic plates?" Tails questioned.

"Ya know, just because I've been here longer doesn't make me an expert on this place. You'll go mad trying to make sense of things here." Sonic answered

"But is this what you usually do? Just go with it?"

"Or die. Either way."

 **Genetics is not a good way to run a government. It is an inherently flawed system of politics. Bad for the subjects. Perhaps worse for the members of the royal families. The clothing they wear, though now associated with riches was originally made to be inherently crippling. As in: Clothes built to hinder any activity. Clothes fit for nothing: tailor-made for those who have everything done for them. For what good is a straw hat to one who never sees the sun? Only the glove separates Princess Toadstool's hands from the dirt of her tasks. She takes a look at her hands before looking down at her newly-appeared castle as she stood on its rooftops.**

"My castle. As I remember it. It, it's-" She heard a noise behind her down below. "Infested. Who are you?"

"WAAAAAAAHH." The ape responded. He wore a red tie with the letters D-K. The gorilla was big even for his species. "GHHHHGHHHM" The animal snarled as he stormed off into the Eastern Nexus.

 **The comet observatory distorts Mario's head as he too senses the disturbance. It makes him paranoid.**

"Who's that coming?" He heard something moving about beneath his upper platform.

"It's me." A voice said from behind as it landed on the platform with him.

"Tails? What do you want?"

"Well I was talking to the taller Asian and he made a point that we never got to do a one on one."

"Goku?"

"Look I'm not here to fight." Tails clarified. "But I am missing some closure here."

"And what am I supposed to do about that?" Mario asked apprehensively.

"I just think you've been too much a key player in all this to not know more than you let on."

"Couldn't I say the same about you?"

"You don't much about me beyond my name."

"Well if you're anything like your blue friend, I have nothing to fear." Mario's last sentence got to Tails.

"Alright, you got me. Now I do want to fight you." Tails said casually drawing his electron cannon. He pointed it at Mario and squeezed the trigger.

"Bring it." Mario raised both hands and launched a pair of fireballs back. The resulting explosion knocked them both off of the uppermost platform. As the two fell Mario reoriented himself in the air while Tails used his famous appendages to propel himself toward his opponent. He pulls out his cannon and fires downward as he gets close. He misses wildly, bringing a smile to Mario's face as he cocks his right hand back. "Hi-YAH!" A quick strike sends Tails crashing down. "Hm?!" Mario notices the electron blast heading where he was falling. Tails wasn't aiming for him. Mario landed with the blast and was sent back skyward.

"Got him." Tails rushed to his feet and got beneath his opponent. As Mario came down he was rebounded skyward by a rising robotic fist from the ground. "This really it? I can't believe I had tro-OGHN!" Tails flew face first and forward. His forehead banged against the ground as he landed. "Owww."

"HUMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" A groaning whine sounded behind him as he tried to push himself up. HYYYYYYE-HA!" A driving weight landed on Tails back. He was sure it was broken. Peeking his head up from the ground, he saw his attacker land gracefully. A green dinosaur. Not one he'd seen before, not much bigger than him. There was a red saddle on it's back and on it sat Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Good boy, Yoshi." Mario petted the creature. "Impeccable as always." He hopped off the creature and approached the downed Tails. When he got close enough, he gave a swift kick to the fox's face. Blood ran down Tails' nose instantly. "You come here of all places and challenge me? This is MY fortress of solitude. This is not where you come to cause trouble!"

"Sonic may be out of his wits right now." Tails said. "But he was right. You are an asshole." At that sentence, Mario raised his foot to strike again, but lowered it.

"I'M an asshole? Without me he'd probably be dead. Hell a lot of us might be." He turned and walked away from Tails. "And who the hell said I was a hero anyway? Or even a good person? You know as much about me as I do about you. I'm not some goodie-two-shoes hero, always fighting for the greater good. I'm just good at saving lives. And damn it, that should be enough for you people!" He stopped to pet Yoshi once more. "Just ask the dinosaur, I'm no hero, just something close to it."

"So I've heard." Tails said getting back to his feet. "Hm".

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Mario asked.

"My friend Sonic, he's fast. Word travels faster. But me? Nothing escapes me. I've had a chance to talk to Princess Toadstool. Nice lady. Might be missing a few screws here and there, but who here isn't? Of course, like you said, I don't know you well either. I don't know everything, but I know a real hero doesn't let the same woman get kidnapped over, and over, and over, AND over. So I guess you're right. I shouldn't assume you're a good p-"

"I've heard enough of your mouth!" Mario said launching a fireball. Just after he launches it, a lightning fast force takes him and Yoshi off of their feet. Mario lands on his back but lifts his head to see the offender. He can barely make out a darker colored fox before a blue aura lights up and bounces his fireball back at him. As the fireball heads toward him, Tails rises into the air and fires another electron blast. The two projectiles meet again, this time in Mario's face, immobilizing him into the ground and temporarily blinding his pet. As Tails landed, the darker colored fox roundhouse kicked him backwards to knock him down.

"Now that I've got everyone's attention," the brown fox piped up "Hey, Fox McCloud, nice to meet you all. Now, from what ROB says, you all may have heard this line before. But I've got a proposition for you.

 _Concluded: End of Chapter 1_


	2. Chapter 2: Tragic Flaw

**Author's Note:**

 **Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8a, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically.**

 **What is the measure of a man? What defines masculinity? It needn't be defined completely by how he lives life. But how he faces death. Does he look it in the eye? Does he look away? Is he less of a man if he gazes into the eyes of death with tearful eyes? In Konoha, Naruto and Ichigo had already been informed by Fox of The Great Fox Tournament.**

"But if history is any indicator" Ichigo reasoned to Naruto "we almost definitely should not enter."

"Ya know he didn't even ask us if we wanted to." Naruto responded. "I mean, he didn't threaten us like Wario. He just sort of told us about it and left. Just assumed we'd fight whoever he told us to."

"Well aren't you?" Ichigo asked.

"Well yeah, I don't wanna be the only one not fighting. We're warriors aren't we?

"Hm. Yeah."

"You're not still worried about that silly dream, are you?"

"Nah it would've happened by now."

"It's okay if you are, ya know that."

"I said I'm fine."

 **Ignorance is a natural high. And by far the most healthy. At the Earthbound stage, Goku reassures Ness.**

"But what makes him any different than Wario and his "offer". Ness asked Goku.

"He's got a ship. An actual ship that he used to get here. You saw it. And just like he got here, he can get us out. Something tangible that we can trust. I've had my fill of this place, I'm ready to go." The Saiyan sounded as serious as ever.

"So who do you fight in the first round?"

"Naruto, the kid we fought when we first came. I'm kinda excited. He showed some real skill last time."

"You know you're going to win, don't you?"

"Well, I can't sense energy anymore, so there's no gar-"

"You know you're going to win, don't you?"

"I'm fairly confident" The Saiyan blushed and scratched his head. "but anything could happen. Kids got a real talent."

 **You cannot put down a blue-collar service and then demand that very same service. Deep down, every white-collar knows this. Secretly, he fears the bottom of the pyramid. He fears the foundation. Mortals should be more like the stones of a mountain. For the stone that sits atop the mountain peaks, does not think its more important than the stones that form the base. At the newly-appeared Suburban Mushroom Kingdom Stage, known to some as Mushroom Kingdom III, Mario, saddled upon Yoshi, catches up with the Princess.**

"Have you seen him around anymore?" Mario asked."

"No. He didn't seem violent actually, just confused. I believe his hangout is next to my castle. I just make sure to go around it." Peach spoke almost in defense of the animal.

"You let me know if you if he give you any more trouble."

"I think you have more things to worry about, Mario." She said as she pointed behind the plumber. Mario signaled Yoshi to turn around. There Mario saw him, Fox McCloud, Captain of The Great Fox, progenitor of The Great Fox Tournament. Beside him stood Link.

"How's it hanging, Mario." Fox addressed him. "You'll find I get straight to the point. This is your opponent for the first round. Needless to say, we're all very interested to see how this fight plays out. The fight ends when one of you gives up or can't continue. So submit, immobilize, die, do whatever it takes. But the girl and the dinosaur, they gotta go." Mario smiled at Fox's efficiency. He hopped off Yoshi's back.

"Take the Princess back to the castle, Yoshi, I'll be fine." Yoshi walked away with the Princess as directed. Fox got clear of either combatant. "How are you watching all of us at the same time?" Mario asked.

"Don't really see how that's your business, but I'll humor it. Your peers are all fighting in their first rounds right now. Even that pet of yours is gonna head to The Central Highway to fight Megaman when he drops the lady off. Couldn't get her into this tournament though. Can't say I didn't try. Couldn't get Kirby or Black Mage to compete either."

"How do you know everyone already?"

"Answers are for winners, Mario."

"I'm getting impatient." Link chimed in.

"You heard the man. Let's get started." Fox piped out. Link drew his sword. Mario cocked his right fist back in flame.

"Let's get this over with." Mario prepared.

 **Oedipus met his downfall on the path he took to avoid it. It was his tragic flaw. These fighters envy him. They do not merely possess tragic flaws. They are tragic flaws. Every last one. In Hueco Mundo, Ichigo is surprised at who he must fight first. He prepares himself for battle as his opponent steps forward.**

"Sora! You're still alive." Ichigo scowled.

"Don't sound so surprised." Sora smirked.

 **Kirby had been asked to protect Princess Peach during the tournament. Mario had been thrilled that she chose not to participate and when he found out Kirby would also forgo the games, he asked the favor of Kirby. Of course Kirby would not admit to the princess is original reason for being there. In the interest of taking two birds with one stone, at the Mushroom Kingdom II stage Castle, the most easily defended one, Kirby conversed with her, carefully.**

"Why didn't you decide to participate this time around, princess?" Kirby asked curiously.

"I actually was not asked, this time around." Peach answered.

"Fox didn't ask you at all?"

"No. I take no offense to it. I'm royalty after all. Besides, I know that it's better I stay out of this."

"And you didn't feel that way last time?"

"Last time was necessary. Of course I didn't expect to make it to the end and defeat Wario. And of course I wouldn't have fared well against Black Mage so unexpectedly. But I had to establish that I was not a damsel in distress anymore. I am just as formidable as the next fighter here. Of course, I had no idea Mario would be the first one I faced in the Battle Royale."

"He was very strong wasn't he?" Kirby remarked.

"It was nothing I hadn't seen before." Peach scowled. "But, it was a lot different fighting him than watching. Even in all of Bowser's minions and children he must have gone through to get to me so many times over, I never realized how brutal he was. I mean, I guess it makes sense. To bring the Koopa Kingdom to it's knees time and time again, you must have a great deal of ruthlessness. But to channel that towards me . . ."

"You took it personally?"

"Should I not? Does he not call himself a warrior of the Mushroom Kingdom? Am I not-"

"A damsel in distress?"

"What?"

"He had always told me before, but I wasn't sure how much to believe at first. But hearing it from y-"

"What did he tell you?!" The princess spoke with authority.

"What?" Kirby's voice raised a slight pitch.

"What did he tell you of me?"

"He just told me of his adventures wherein he would save you from King Koopa."

"Adventures?"

"Yes."

"So that's what they were?" Peach's voice raised exponentially. "Adventures? Escapades where he could go around seeing how many different things he could kill and how to do it? Seeing what power-ups he could steal and-"

"Princess calm down." Kirby said, slightly frightened.

"YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO." She moved in on the short fighter and drove her fist downward. Her fist got lodged in the ground.

"Princess, please. I was only making-"

"Shut up!" She pulled a rock from beneath the ground, possibly a piece of castle foundation, striking Kirby with it as she muscled it out the ground. Kirby stumbled back and stood his guard, knowing he could not hurt the princess.

 **Entertainment has existed almost as long as mankind. Entertainment with a purpose is relatively new. But what came first? Entertainment or purpose? Fox McCloud was not in the interest of watching every match unfold. He figured the winners would show in time. He was not like other tournament hosts. He would participate, from the first round to the final, which he fully planned on being a part of. He approached his opponent in Jungle Hijinx.**

"Alright DK, ROB says you're smarter than you look."

"Hm." The gorilla stood tall upright with its arms crossed, waiting for his half-pint opponent to make the first move.

"Well, that could be a problem for me. So I'm gonna ask you once. I'm on a mission will you join me?" At this question, Donkey Kong cradled his chin in thought. He then shrugged and extended his hand to Fox. "Seriously? Just so you know, you'll be proving yourself by killing the greatest fighters ever known, you sure?"

"Hm."

"Well good." Fox grabbed Donkey Kong's hand to shake it. "That worked out better than I th-AUGHN!" Fox yelped as the gorilla squeezed his hand ever so slightly. He looked up to see Donkey Kong smiling. "Ah. Shit." Donkey Kong launched the Fox skyward. "Well now, how did I get myself into this one?" Fox said as he reached his apex. He turned to look back down at the gorilla. Donkey Kong stood with his hands far apart ready to crush the Fox when he got close enough. "Well I guess this is the start of our match." Fox said as he fell closer. Just as he got near arms reach of Donkey Kong, he raised his body heat and stopped his momentum momentarily. The Kong clasped his hands together hard, just barely missing the fox. At this opening, Fox exploded his body downward. His body struck the Kong like a bullet to the face. The Kong came crashing down on his back.

"Mmmmmm."

"Alright ape-shit. I'm gonna hurt you. Then, I'm gonna make you useful."

 **In the fields of the Mushroom Kingdom III stage, the battle between Link and Mario rages on. Link does everything to keep the distance between him and Mario. That is how he aims to win. He tosses his boomerang at Mario. Mario backpedals to dodge it. Link sends a barrage of arrows his way. Mario runs for his life. The arrows all fall just behind him. Link begins putting more intent on the arrows.**

"Wait a minute I've done this before." Mario said as he slid and ducked, reversing his direction. He began running toward Link.

"You're crazy. I'm gonna plant one between your eyes." Link said, continuing to shoot. Mario dodged rolled and jumped clear of the projectiles. It was just like dodging Bowser's fireballs, but less fiery, more rapid. Link watched as the plumber evaded one after another. Mario reached back while dodging, putting him in an awkward position for a moment. An arrow grazed him on the left shoulder.

"Ah!" Mario winced, drawing his flag and reflecting the next arrow back.

"Oh no." The arrow struck his hand. He dropped the arrow and re-holstered the bow. Mario closed in on Link. Link stretched his sword back in preparation. Mario shoots a fireball, knocking him out of his stance. Link stumbles and turns around. In reflex, he quickly swings around with his shield to bash any sneak attacks. He catches Mario's forehead. The blow brings Mario to one knee. Link raises his sword high and points it downward.

 _Wait is he trying to kill me?_ Mario thought as he swiped the dropped arrow and pierced Link's foot with it, nailing it to the ground.

"Gah!" Linked screamed in pain, but could not move or flex his foot for fear of making it worse. Mario got clear of sword's reach.

"You shouldn't fuck with me." Mario said standing back up to face his opponent.

 **Megaman and Yoshi clashed in a battle between dinosaur and robot. Between the prehistoric and the future. After an intense exchange, Yoshi jabs Megaman in the eyes with his tongue. The robot covers his face and spawns his drill in a blind reflex.**

"WAH!" Yoshi panics as he ducks. He grabs Megaman's feet with his tongue and yanks them from under. Megaman landed hard. Yoshi then turned his back and fled the grounds of Castle Wiley. Megaman sat up and watched. He had never seen anything run so fast.

"Wait, so, does this mean I win?"

 **Sora did not get the chance to participate in the previous tournament. He fought as if to make up for this fact. As if he had to prove that he was just as good without Game Shark. Ichigo was too slow to keep up with Sora the entire fight. Between Sora's elemental attacks, Ichigo never got close to Sora. He really was the host of the Twilight Town Tournament. A war-torn body of a man lay before Sora, half dead from all the thunder strikes.**

"I really feel like I should kill you." Sora said peering over Ichigo's downed body. "But I should save my energy. I'm sure there's a better use of my time." Sora turned toward the Western Nexus and exited Hueco Mundo.

 **Fox stood on Donkey Kong's chest. An empty syringe lie in his grasp.**

"When this is all said and done, you will all either join me or die. But YOU, DK. Well you are just too useful to take a chance on. I'll be gone by the time you can get up, but you'll know that I won this round I'm sure. I guess I better see how everyone else is doing.

Concluded


	3. Chapter 3: Shining Shadows

**Author's Note:**

 **Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8a, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically.**

 **When a grand shadow is cast, even in the absence of the light. When the Sun is eclipsed until there is no bright side to look upon. When dark clouds filled with nothing but the energy that the world has put into the sky, nothing more than the energy that already exists. It has been turned against living things. A storm is rolling in on these characters and I fear they are not yet ready. In the Chaos Shrine, Fox converses with Black Mage. The Mage sits on the ground Indian style, facing away from Fox as the conversation lulls on.**

"And just how is it you know what I'm capable of, Fox?" Black Mage asked with curiosity.

"I could ask you the exact same thing." Fox replied. "I don't recall giving you my name yet."

"You'd rather not discuss how I've come to know these things. But how do you know enough about me to even consider recruiting me for this cause?"

"My ship/pilot told me."

"A robot?"

"It's a really good one."

"How much did it tell you?"

"Enough."

"Do you want me to join you or not?"

"Look no matter what he told me, there's always more to it. The only way I could use anything against you is if you weren't confident that you could beat me." Fox smiled in confidence. Black mage subtly hung his right hand off his lap. A small flame spawned in it.

"You sir, have a way with words. Just enough to bring out my intentions. And just under the amount that makes me want to kill you. At least not right now." Black Mage said as he doused the flame.

"Good, you'll be called upon when you're needed." Fox turned and began to walk away.

"One more thing, Fox. Why wasn't I extended an invitation to The Great Fox Tournament?"

"You would have killed too many too soon. And that wouldn't have been part of the plan."

"You _have_ been doing your homework. Fair enough. I'll see you, soon." With that, he let Fox leave for his next fight in the Tournament.

 **The first round of The Great Fox Tournament was decided using both the honor system and the inability of some fighters to continue. Link's wounded foot led to a loss against Mario. Yoshi fled from his fight with Megaman. Sonic was defeated in a shocking upset by Pikachu. Tails had outfoxed Lloyd. Naruto had been defeated by Goku for the second consecutive time. Wario had trounced Ness. Sora embarrassed Ichigo and Fox had triumphed over Donkey Kong. After making his rounds to inform everyone of their next opponent, it was time for Fox to face his second opponent. Sora was waiting for him as he entered Twilight Town.**

"I knew you wouldn't take long." Sora greeted him.

"I'm very efficient. But before we fight, I have a proposition for you that I _don't_ think you'll be able to refuse.

 **Back at the Castle of the Mushroom Kingdom II stage, Yoshi rests with the princess.**

"Yoshi. You got here after me. How did you get here?" Yoshi was reluctant to respond and instead ignored the question. "Yoshi, is everything alright back at the real Kingdom?" Yoshi peered up at the Princess. She read his eyes clearly. "Oh, God help us."

 **Mario approached Megaman with confidence at the Central Highway arena.**

"How exactly would you like to lose, Megaman?"

"How would you like to die?" Megaman retorted.

"Well you're just downright comical."

"I'm tired of being treated like I'm not the most capable fighter here." Megaman raised his canon in frustration. "When I kill you I won't have that problem anymore." The megabuster began drawing energy. Mario began to walk directly toward it as if it weren't a threat.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Megaman." Megaman fired when Mario got close enough. Mario reflects the blast back at his opponent with his cape. Megaman brings up his shield and does the same. When Megaman lowers his shield to see the result, he sees nothing but the plumber's hat. Puzzled for a moment, Megaman feels a heavy weight land on his head. He falls over, holding his cranium. "You actually are the most capable. And one of these days you might be stronger than all of us. But no one will care by that time." Mario picked his hat back up and put it on. "When that day comes, they'll either hate your more or not care at all. You get that?" Megaman looks back from his face down position and fires a sticky sticky grenade. Mario defects it and this time Megaman cannot draw his shield from the ground. The grenade sticks to his face. "Idiot."

 **Pikachu had defeated Sonic in the first round of the Tournament. Now, he would have to get through Tails. A tall order, all things considered. They stared each other down in the Casino Night Zone.**

"So how'd something like you get past Sonic, let alone into the competition?" Tails asked.

"Pi-ka." Pikachu replied as lightning spawned about its cheeks.

"Oh. That's how."

"CHU!" The rodent threw itself at the fox, his lightning surrounding him.

"Nope." Tails spawned his robotic fist from the ground beneath. Pikachu was uppercutted, hitting the bumper above and crashing back down in front of his opponent. "Hm." Tails activated his chain mechanism once more and brought the metal fist around his torso, sending his opponent backwards. He hit another bumper and was sent back to Tails. Tails caught him and slammed him into the ground. "I don't think you were supposed to win this."

" **Beyond this place**

 **so hard to see**

 **but not so hard**

 **is it to feel.**

 **With suffering**

 **vast as the sea**

 **I know what's fake**

 **and what is real.**

 **So should the day**

 **my corpse does come**

 **When the dark times**

 **start to arrive**

 **You may gain**

 **strength needed from**

 **the circumstances**

 **when I die."**

 **Link remembered the shining potential Lloyd showed in their last sparring bout. He remembered how well Lloyd handled himself when the situation got closer to being real. He remembered everything. At Hyrule, Link and Lloyd reflected on their first-round losses.**

"Link, I got serious question for ya." Lloyd said.

"Well that's a first." Link teased.

"Seriously. Think about this. Does anyone else here train besides us?"

"Sonic used to."

"Anyone else?"

"I don't think so."

"And what do our win-loss records look like?"

"What's your point?"

"I think maybe we've been approaching this all wrong, maybe, the way to be the best here isn't by training, but instead just doing nothing."

"You mean like Mario?" Link teased.

"Exactly!" Lloyd replied.

"Lloyd, that was a joke."

"Was it though? I mean, the guy wins. If we're trying to be the best, maybe we should do what the best do."

"Who says we're trying to be the bests." Link paused before continuing. "Wait, is that what you're trying to do?"

"Why else would we be trying to get stronger?"

"To get out of here. To go back to our homes! Duh!"

"Well yeah, but you'll probably never see me or any of these people again when we get out, if we get out." Lloyd threw his arms up in exclamation.

"Wait." Link said calmly. "You don't think we're gonna make it out."

"That's not what I said."

"Well you may as well have. What makes you think we're not gonna make it out?"

"Well we've been here a while, Link. Not like we haven't had chances either. I just think it would have happened by now. But heck, so far, neither of us have made it far enough to get to that point. Or even look it in the eye!"

"So you're saying we need to change our method."

"I'm saying we need to get stronger."

"But you just said we should be more like Mario."

"Well, I mean-"

"Follow me. I know what to do." Link got up and motioned for Lloyd to follow him.

 **Brute force, defeats strategy, defeats brain power, defeats brute force, and so on. Wario's undying perseverance keeps him in his fight with Goku at Planet Namek. He does not wish to expend too much energy before the final round of the tournament. Goku teleports behind Wario and grabs him by the overalls. He swings him around and launches him with the Dragon Throw. Wario flies skyward.**

"This is stupid." Wario said flying into the air. He reaches into his inside pocket and pulls out some glowing dust. It was the last remnants of the Grand Medallion. He was saving it for an emergency but at this point it weighed he and his conscious down. "I only get hurt if he throws me _into_ something, not in the air!" As he turned to begin falling, he dumped some of the glowing dust into his right glove. The glove glowed and he felt a tingling sensation. "Let's see what I can do with this." Before he fell anymore, Goku teleported in the air next to him. "AH!" Wario panicked and chopped Goku in the neck with his right hand. The Saiyan could barely let out an agonized scream before going limp and falling with Wario to the ground. Wario flips his body and lands on his feet as Goku crashes down headfirst. Wario observed as the spot on Goku's neck he chopped glows with bloody hues. "Ew. Well even if he doesn't die, he's not getting up for a while."

 **Megaman had managed to regain some ground against Mario and was going to finish him off with a fully charged Megabuster. Mario was sprawled out on the ground, he looked nearly unconscious after a battle that brought out nearly all of Megaman's arsenal. Megaman panted as he prepared to release.**

"Your reign's over." He said as he released the blast. In a flash, Mario reflects the attack from his downed position back at Megaman. The already damaged robot was sent skyward and slightly fried over by the blast. He landed at an arcs distance from Mario. Mario walked over to Megaman, who could not move.

"You mean to tell me your opponent's never played possum? I think I see your problem, Megaman." As Mario got close enough, he placed his foot on Megaman's chest, resting his arm on hiss leg. The pose and disrespectful gesture reminded Megaman of his first encounter and defeat at the hands of Wario. "You just need more experience. You keep on fighting, and I guarantee, you'll start winning one day. Not against me, but against someone of course." Megaman turned his head to look up and responded.

"You, you're just like Wario. Are . . . are you brothers?" Mario was disgusted at the question.

"Hell no!"

"Well you could have fooled me. You act just like him. I bet the only difference is your agendas. Hehehe, I can see the resemblance." Megaman laughed as Mario gave him a death-stare from his victorious position. "What, you're gonna kill me? Go ahead, that's what Wario would d-"

"Shut the hell up!" Mario said, stomping Megaman's face into the ground.

 **Is a Shadow then, the absence of light? Or is the light simply a disruption of darkness? In either case, it is a given that one would not exist without the other. Do they not both serve their purpose to the universe? And does either have a purpose, when the other one ceases to exist? It doesn't take the same morals to join a cause. In Twilight Town, Fox's victory over Sora came not after blood, but in the form of a handshake.**

"Don't let me down, Fox." Sora said.

"Hey, I'm just glad you're on _my_ side." Fox responded.

Concluded


	4. Chapter 4: Beatdown

**Author's Note:**

 **Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8a, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically.**

 **Amazing is defined more by what is considered normal than what is considered extraordinary. To a bottom-feeder of the seas, the Sun is amazing. To an ant, anything that cannot lift ten times its own weight is weak. What makes us amazing? Is it the feats we do so well so often? Or is it what we accomplish against all odds, despite our limitations. Link and Lloyd had snuck into Sector Z. There they saw it. The Great Fox space vessel. The tournament's namesake. After checking to make sure they were alone, they searched about the exterior until they found a way in through the launch chute.**

"Why does he leave this open?" Lloyd asked. "Isn't that kinda dangerous? I mean this is a big and probably expensive piece of work here."

"Let's spend less time worrying about why and more time being thankful he did." Link reassured.

"Wait, what if it's open because he's about to use the chute. A ship could come flying through here any second!"

"Well let's check." Link drew an arrow and fired it as far down as they could see the chute go. "See, nothing to worry about." They continued forward.

"So what are we even here for?"

"Simple. You were right. We needed to change our method. Trying to kill each other to get out of here alive is stupid. Fox has a ship that can get us out of here, so we're just gonna take the ship out of here. Cut the middleman."

"But isn't that, stealing?"

"Yeah, since when does that stuff matter to you?"

"Well it doesn't, not that much. But you. Link that's really under-handed for you. I'm disappointed, quite frankly."

"Shut-up. I'm just finally thinking smarter, not harder."

"So you're finally seeing all that noble hero bullshit is just that huh?" Lloyd chuckled. "Now you're finally seeing it like the rest of us. HA!" Lloyd's face did an evil scrunch as he tilted his head back in laughter. Link stopped walking and turned around to Lloyd. He grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him slightly off the ground.

"Alright, listen up you little prick! Don't ever compare me to those animals and ametuers out there. I've _only_ ever done what was right for the greater good in my past. So when I bend the rules-not break, _bend_ the rules-it is only because I'm the one that's taking care of us until we find a way out. I don't want things this way. But they are! So on the off-chance I do something important that _might_ be a little underhanded, I don't need your usual brand of shit-talking!" Lloyd was momentarily silenced. Before he could retort something that surely would have escalated things further, Link threw Lloyd to the floor. From the ground Lloyd watched Link draw his sword.

"Oh shit!" Lloyd said, preparing for the worst. After drawing, Link slashed across the space in font of him, reflecting a shot from Fox's blaster. The shot flew back towards Fox, who stood at the entrance of the chute from whence they'd come. Fox puts up his reflector and bounces the attack back at Link. Still not completely aware of what is happening, Lloyd attempts to get up.

"Stay down!" Link said stomping his friend back to the ground as he shielded the blaster this time. After shielding it, Link grabbed Lloyd off the ground. "Get up!" Link shoved Lloyd into place. Lloyd stumbled into his fighting stance. The two swordsmen stood off and stared down Fox. Fox now stood upright and looked relatively relaxed. His arms were crossed as he addressed the intruders.

"You stand in defense as if this were _your_ ship." Fox teased.

"We don't want trouble, Fox." Link said. "Just let us do what we came here to do, and leave."

"Really. You _really_ think I'm gonna let you do that on _my_ ship. Lloyd do me a favor, see that thing right behind your left arm, coming out of the wall?" Lloyd turned to see.

"Yeah." Lloyd answered.

"And see all the things just like it behind it throughout the launch chute?" Fox asked again.

"Yeah."

"So do you still think this is a good idea?" Fox asked again.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Link asked in his frustration. He had yet to take his eyes off Fox.

"Link," Lloyd answered. "This hallway is riddled with automatic guns coming out of the walls. I think we should leave.

"No need!" Fox said. "ROB, conceal all interior defenses, everything's fine. I repeat, re-conceal all the centuries, as you were." The guns disappeared at the fox's command. "See letting the ship's defenses tear you apart would be too easy. Nope. I'm gonna get you boys off my ship." Fox said walking toward the two swordsmen, prepping and loosening his arms. "But first, I'm gonna fuck you up!"

 **What happens when two-tailed fury meets the ability to overcome any hurdle? When experiences clash with raw intellect. Who wins. Tails and Mario met at the Comet Observatory. It was the first tournament match held officially at The Comet Observatory. It was a sign of respect, from Mario to Tails. They squared off atop the highest platform. One half of the semi-final round of The Great Fox Tournament was beginning. They raced to each other and began trading blows.**

"HIYA!" Mario cuts the air with a missed elbow. Tails loops his arm around Mario's and uppercuts him. Tails grabbed the stunned Mario by the arm and flipped him over his shoulder.

"Get ready!" Tails said as he held the downed Mario's arm in grasp and began kicking him in the face. Mario struggled physically and resisted panic. He frantically shot fireballs at Tails from his grounded position until the fox released him. He rolled away instinctively. His instincts dropped him from the top platform. As he reoriented himself in-air, he was hit with a Tail-whip and sent accelerating to the ground. "No Goku to save you this time!" Tails said as he descended toward his target. "HU-TAH!" Tails landed on Mario's torso. Tails stepped off of Mario and the plumber began crawling around with the wind knocked out of him.

 **Weakness is unfamiliar to Son Goku. It is not that he never has limits. Rather, he seldom meets a limit he cannot overcome. He cannot reflect on any of this now. Ness dragged Goku's limp body back to the Earthbound stage. He shot the Saiyan with what had to be an unhealthy amount of electricity to get him back conscious.**

"Come one!" Ness said in frustration. This had been the one person he trusted since coming to this world.

 **As Kirby began mastery of his instincts of foresight, it brought him to follow Yoshi. It is still unknown as to whether Yoshi led him to a real objective. The two were on board the Gangplank Galleon. The ship that always sailed from East to West and lead to Jungle Hijinx. Yoshi peered over the bow. Kirby watched him suspiciously.**

"Where are you taking us, Yoshi?" Kirby asked.

"PPPHHHBTTT!" Yoshi exclaimed at Kirby and turned back to face the open seas as it got closer to the Nexus. When they were close enough, the ship drew to a stop. Yoshi leaped into the Western Nexus. Kirby followed him.

"This better not be trouble." Kirby followed the dinosaur into the next stage. When they phased through, they were at Jungle Hijinx, home to Donkey Kong. The Gorilla's shear size intimidated Kirby. "By God, why does it wear a tie?" The Gorilla stood hunched over, his hands holding his face as if it had a severe headache.

"HHUUM!" Yoshi gestured at the gorilla.

"Are you insane? We can't help him anymore than he can help himself!"

 **Relentless is the enemy who dominates an opponent. Perplexing and demoralizing is the enemy who overwhelms two foes at once. Fox McCloud was a step ahead of each of his opponents as they fought in the launch chute of The Great Fox. With a series of short-hops, ducks, and flips, he alludes the slashes of the two swordsmen on either side of him.**

"HN!" Fox leaned back to dodge a simultaneous slash from both sides. At the opening, he does a rotating leg sweep to take down both opponents. The swordsmen both hit the ground with a thud. "Weak!" Fox said as he drew his gun.

"No!" Link and Lloyd both said as they swiped at his feet. He leaps high to avoid it, shooting at his opponents as they rushed to their feet. A shot hits Lloyd in the foot, stunning him to one foot for a moment. Link blocks a shot with his shield. When he puts it down to see, he is hit head-on by the fire-fox attack. Link is sent straight back and skids to a stop. Fox grabs Link by the foot, dragging him backwards to gain momentum before swinging him and throwing him the opposite direction. Lloyd catches Link's body by the shirt and pulls him to a stop.

"Still up, eh?" Fox teased.

"You shouldn't have tried to take us both on at once."Lloyd said as he charged toward Fox. Link gets up and soon follows. "Demon fang!" Lloyd fired the grounded projectile at Fox.

"You guys don't learn, do you?" Fox said as he put up his reflector to bounce the Demon Fang back. As he puts his reflector up, Link leaps over him and lands on the side opposite Lloyd in an effort to outflank Fox. Both swordsmen attempted to slash and stab him once more. Link misses a hard stab and grazes Lloyd just above the hip.

"AH!" Lloyd winced in pain but continued slashing at his opponent. He did not want to appear weak. The two swordsmen went for another big simultaneous slash, this time at different levels. Fox leaves his feet and twists in the air until he is almost completely horizontal. He draws his gun mid-twist. His feet toward Lloyd and his gun pointed at Link. His momentum twisting, Fox lands multiple kicks to Lloyd head while shooting Link in the face. Both swordsmen fell to near unconsciousness.

"HUH!" Fox landed in a three-point stance. "ROB, time check."

"You are two minutes late for your appointment." ROB answered.

"Shit. You idiots are gonna make me mess up everything!" Fox exclaimed. He grabbed them both by the collar and dragged them toward the exit. He looked down at his defeated opponents as their heads hung and their feet skidded. "You two might be useful yet. But if I catch you around here again . . ."

 **The Comet Observatory had adopted a strange new property since the battle between Tails and Mario started. At random intervals, it would transform into a floating ice ring. At a random point, it would then transform back. While unexpected, it was just the surprise to turn the tide for Mario. Tails' superior speed became less of a factor as he struggled to control his traction. Failing to stop on a dime, he skids into a fully charged fire-punch. He is sent sliding toward the ledge. The oblivion of space lies below.**

"Knew I'd catch you slipping." Mario said, approaching the downed opponent. Tails struggles to his feet. He takes a short step at Mario before jumping high. Mario leaps to meet him in the air. Tails shoots Mario with an electron round in anticipation. Mario jolts even higher in the air. Tails propels himself to maneuver behind Mario in the air. Seeing this, Mario quickly recovers and reaches his arms back over his shoulder, grabbing Tails in a face-lock. His grip firmly in place, Mario drags the fox down with him in a jaw-busting Stunner. They land on a floating platform just above the ice ring. Tails bounces off and falls back to the other side of the ice ring. Mario leaps off after him and lands with hip-drop on top of Tails.

"GAGHT!" The sound of pain escaped from Tails mouth, muffled by the sound of blood. Mario stood up and kicked Tails while he was down. The the fox rolled over to the ledge and nearly fell. He caught himself, holding onto the ledge with both hands. Seeing this, Mario steps on Tails right fingers. "NGH!" Tails gritted.

"You've got a lot of fight in you." Mario teased. He grabbed tails other wrist and lifted him up. "So if I drop you from this ledge I win, right?" At that moment, the stage began shifting again. When the sights and movement of color cleared, The Comet Observatory was back as it was before. Mario dropped Tails gently onto the ground. "We're done here."

"I'll say!" Mario heard a voice coming from the Western Nexus. "You're pretty skilled." Mario looked over. It was Fox. "It looks like the last fight's you and me, Mario." Fox looked like he'd barely a scratch on him. "In fact, if you follow me, we can get right to the main event!

 **Mortals have an instinctive, an innate need, to categorize things as good or bad, positive, or negative. Everything gets a connotation and any man with a mouth names himself a critic. Concepts themselves are not spared form judgment. Hate, is often perceived as negative. But to some, hate is not a feeling that is bad. It is simply, a feeling. It is, all that they know. It is, a state of being. Black Mage contemplates this as the end of the tournament approaches.**

"Is there, could there, possibly be, a thing more entropic, than even me?"

Concluded


	5. Chapter 5: The Final Name

**Author's Note:**

 **Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8a, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically.**

 **After countless conflict, goodbyes that were never said and unwelcome reunions, the moment is finally here. The final round of The Great Fox Tournament. At Sector Z, Fox McCloud stands atop the cockpit of his ship with his arms crossed. He stares out into the distance of space in the background. Mario stands a dozen feet behind, his hands at his side but still tightly clinched.**

"Well? What the hell are you waiting for. I've grown tired of suspense in my fights!" Mario was severely fatigued, but eager nonetheless.

"You're awfully eager to fight, for what could be the last time, Mario." Fox responded, as cocky as ever. "Don't you want to take in the sights a bit, just in case? Just in case that Z is the last thing you ever see?"

"I generally don't like to stain my gloves with blood. But I'm gonna kill you, just for the hell of it."

"Well that's not a good reason. Don't you still wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well then, let's keep the fight honorable, shall we? I don't kill you, you don't kill me. And we both get what we want."

"What the hell are you getting out of this?"

"I used to be like you. I helped people by, basically killing. Violent justice at its finest. And you know, as much as I killed, I'm talking cleaned my way across the cosmos in dead bodies, I realized that I was never gonna fix it all. You try to save one Kingdom time and time again? Try a fucking solar system. One day I finally saw the forest through the trees. And fucking shit up? Well this is hella more fun and more productive. But you people? Well you all have got to be the toughest SOB's I've ever met put together in one place!" Fox had not turned around to face Mario yet.

"You're full of shit, Fox!" Mario said as he ran tiredly toward his target, his fists aflame in rage. "I'll fire you up until you take us out!"

"Now do you really wanna fight fire" Fox said as his aura began to flame. "with _fire?!_ " Fox launched himself backwards and headfirst at the charging Mario. Mario blocks the oncoming fox, pushing his entire body back in its blocking stance.

 **What is your perception of a monster? Does it scare you? Does it want to kill you? And even if it does, is it so inhumane? In Jungle Hijinx, Kirby and Yoshi attempted to help Donkey Kong snap out of the injected obedience gone wrong. The gorilla was confused and enraged at the two visitors.**

"Broad side, Yoshi!" Kirby shouted just before DK's fist smacked him into the air. DK turned around to face Yoshi and saw nothing. He looked up and saw Yoshi crashing down foot first on his face.

"OOOOHHHH!" DK stumbled around blindly. When he came to he barely caught a glimpse of Yoshi before Kirby came from behind with a series of rotating kicks. DK stumbled towards Yoshi. He punched Yoshi to stabilize himself. He turns around and grabs Kirby.

"Oh no!" Kirby exclaimed as DK threw him at Yoshi. Kirby double jumps and lands behind Yoshi. "Sorry Yoshi." Kirby said as he stretched his mouth wide and absorbed the dinosaur in front of him. He pops Yoshi out of him and dawns a hat in his likeness, complete with scales. Kirby charged at Donkey Kong. The ape missed a smashing fist at his opponent, who rolled behind him. Once behind him, Kirby used his new-found ability and wrapped his tongue around DK's left wrist. Seeing this, Yoshi did the same to DK's right wrist. The two attempted to stretch the Kong out. Yoshi and Kirby's eyes grew big when the Kong cracked a smile. DK flexed his muscles, raised his arms and smacked his hands together. Yoshi and Kirby were thrown to the air and smashed together

 **Fox let out a barrage of kicks like Mario had not seen before. After blocking until it hurt, Mario caught Fox's foot and did a twisting ankle take-down.**

"AH!" Fox winced as he hit the ground. Mario kept Fox's foot in-grip and leaped all the way to the other side of his body. Fox's foot stretched to the back of his head before Mario let go. Fox rolled over holding his thigh in pain. At this opening, Mario curb-stomped Fox in the head. Mario bent close enough and began mercilessly punching Fox square in the face. Fox's blood ran fluidly from his nose. Mario raised his fist and filled it with fire. It was almost as fierce as the look in his eyes. "I GIVE UP!"

"What?" Mario shouted in question.

"I give up, you win." Fox said with raised eyebrows, his hands guarding his face. Mario released the flame from his fist. Fox struggled to his feet. His head still hung and dripped blood. "Alright." Fox said breathing heavily. "Follow me."

 **The inside of Fox McCloud's ship was dim-lit and slightly intimidating. The cockpit was filled with buttons, levers, knobs. The pilot's chair was already taken by ROB 64. Mario never saw the front of the robot.** **Fox stood right next to the chair. Mario watched from the back of the cockpit.**

"Alright ROB. You know what to do." Fox said.

"Affirmative." ROB replied.

"We're outta here."

"Wait!" Mario exclaimed. "Aren't we going back for everyone else?"

"Oh, we'll be back for em." Fox said with a smirk the plumber couldn't see. The ship began to vibrate violently and quickly. It made Mario woozy. "Moving forward would only crash us into the next stage. So jumping to any type of hyperspace means vibrating fast enough until we pick up enough speed to transcend this place entirely. This ship's pretty big so it's gonna take a while to reach that speed." The vibration sped up. Mario begins to throw up. He holds his hands to his mouth, spewing vomit between his fingers. "Aw, jeez, a fucking lightweight! What have you never traveled through hyperspace?" Fox used his Fox Illusion to teleport in front of Mario and hold the plumber's hands in front of his mouth. "ROB, you get the location on that wormhole yet?"

"Location confirmed. Jump eminent."

"Good." Fox replied. "Hear that Mario, we-" Just then, a glob of vomit exploded through Fox' hands. Both fighters tumbled away from each other. Fox shook his hands off in anger. "You're a plumber, how the hell does anything make _you_ nauseous." He drew his blaster from its holster. "Disgusting motherf-" Fox dashed forward and smashed the butt of his gun into Mario's head, knocking him out.

 **Yoshi's body lie on the grounds of Jungle Hijinx just behind Donkey Kong as the ape held Kirby in one hand and punched him with the other repeatedly. Kirby was as bruised as he'd ever been. Donkey Kong then raised Kirby up and drove him halfway into the ground. Once Kirby was half-buried, Donkey Kong clasped his hands together in preparation to finish him off. Before he could, he felt Yoshi's tongue wrap around his neck and pull him backwards.**

"OOOOOHNG!" The Kong struggled and went down to the ground. He struggled towards Kirby, foaming at the mouth.

"Is this what you want?" Kirby said as he stared in DK's enraged eyes. "I'll bring it." Kirby struggled out of the hole. "Hold him tight, Yoshi!" Kirby leaped into the air and puffed up to double-jump five times. Once he'd reached his apex, he pulled out his hammer as he fast-fell toward his target. Donkey Kong looked Kirby in the eye as he came down. No fear. Just rage. Kirby's hammer came down on the Kong's forehead. DK's body went limp as his head hit the ground. Yoshi loosened his grip. "Yoshi!" Kirby said, panting. "Whatever this was, we're getting the hell outta here!

 **When Mario awakened, he was on board another ship. It was moving faster. It was smaller. And he lay on top of it. He leaned over to watch what appeared to be a desert passing by at fast speed. He stood up slowly holding his head. He saw that he was standing on top of the ship's nose. He turned around to see Fox standing just behind the windshield.**

"What are we doing here?" Mario asked.

"This is the prize." Fox answered. "Don't you see it?"

"I see a fox that I'm through playing games with. This ship better be taking me to the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Not unless that place exists in the afterlife!" A voice said from somewhere unseen.

"What?" Mario said confused. "Why you!" He leaped toward Fox. As he passed over the windshield, it flipped open and knocked him back. When Mario looked up to see what had happened, he saw the windshield lowering once more. It revealed Wario. This had been a setup.

"Hey old friend." Wario said.

"What' this?" Mario asked.

"I am your final obstacle out of this world." Wario answered.

"Bullshit! None of this was real was it? "

"Aren't you gonna ask about the ship? Don't you wanna know who's still in there, driving?" Without an answer, Mario charged at Wario. "Hmhmhm!" Wario dodged two punches and a kick before grabbing Mario's leg, and landing a hard chop before throwing him to Fox. Fox crouched quickly before landing a back-flip kick that sent Mario skyward. Mario landed with a thud between Wario and Fox. Just then, the ship picked up speed.

"He's taking us back. Right on schedule." Fox said. The ship increased speed and crashed into the neighboring Nexus. The crash lifted Mario off of his back, giving him the chance to land on his feet. When he does, he sees Fox and Wario fleeing to the East. He chased them as fast as his wrecked body would allow. He chased them until they arrived at Konoha. Once there, he didn't see Naruto. He didn't see Wario either. All he saw was Fox standing near the next Nexus.

 **Ichigo slashed ferociously at his intruder. He couldn't figure out what business Wario had here, but he didn't have time to worry. All he could see was that Wario's right fist had a hue-filled glow. Ichigo drove his weapon into the ground. A glowing aura shot from the grounds of Hueco Mundo and Wario jumped clear of it. He taps Ichigo on the head before landing on the other side of Ichigo. Ichigo turns around quickly. Wario rolls to the opposite side and hops on Ichigo's back.**

"What the-AHG!" Ichigo was interrupted as Wario reached around and caught Ichigo in a mandible claw, driving his gloved hand into Ichigo's mouth. Wario put more and more pressure on Ichigo's jaw as the aura-filled gloved took it's toll on Ichigo.

"Wa-ha-ha-ha!" Wario laughed. When he felt Ichigo's body weaken, he dropped off of Ichigo's back but held his grip in his opponent's jaw. Ichigo's legs gave out and he fell against Wario while still in his grip. He even released his weapon. Wario held the submission as he sat down. "I'll give it to you straight, kid. You're probably gonna die here. Now, remember that good ole' medal I used to wear around my neck? Well, long story short, the stuff in this glove is what's left of it. And it still does basically whatever I want it to. Ya know, its fueled by will power. And my will is the strongest. And ya know what else? You're not even that important to me. I could let you live and it wouldn't change the course of any of my long-term goals. But, I won't. I'm going to use this, this last bit of the Grand Medallion, to end your life, Ichigo. And while I do it, I'm gonna tell you a story."

 **Love is a feeling. Not just figuratively. But physically. It makes you feel a sensation. It causes bodily reactions. For some more than others. Princess Peach felt a sudden painful sensation as she was restoring Yoshi and Kirby's battle scars from their fight with Donkey Kong. She drops the Maximum Tomato she held and drops to a near fetal position.**

"Princess, what's wrong?" Kirby asked.

"IT HURTS!" she responded simply. "I'll explain later! But you must got to Konoha!"

"What? Is Naruto in trouble?"

"I DON'T KNOW! I NEVER KNOW! JUST GO!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going." _Must be that time of the month._ Kirby thought to himself as he ran off. _Do we still get months here? But wait, she said she didn't know. What did that mean? What did any of that mean?_

 **An unexpected and unwanted vacation is often worse than what one runs away from. Is that what fueled Goku's irritation? It couldn't have been Ness. The psychic was only there to help. It wasn't his family. He'd left them after all. What was it? In the Earthbound stage, Ness wanted to know. He ensured that Goku did not stand or strain himself. He had only just woken up from being knocked out by Wario.**

"This can't be the first close call you've had. What makes this one so irritating?" Ness asked.

"That's the thing." Goku said. "I was killed once and on my way back from the afterlife, four of my friends died before I could get there to do anything about their killers. When I went to Namek for the first time, I got there so late because I needed time to heal from _that_ battle and by the time I got there, my best friend and my son had been beaten to near-death. While I was healing from _that battle,_ another one of my friends were killed, and my best friend was killed in front of me when I got there. On my way back to Earth, an alien I fought, named Frieza, would have killed everyone I know if my friend's son hadn't gotten there to take care of him. Because I sure couldn't get there in time. Three years later I caught a heart disease that I could have easily avoided. It kept me out long enough for the androids to kill hundreds of people. Or maybe millions! I wouldn't know! Then I died for a second time! And didn't come back until this pink monster had killed a third of the Earth's people! Or maybe it was half of them! Once again, I WOUDLN'T KNOW!" The saiyan's tone frightened Ness slightly. Everything Goku had said sounded like a weird imaginary story or a fucked up fairytale, with no happily ever after in sight.

"Y-you should save your energy."

"Don't you get it, Ness?"

"No."

"My whole life as a fighter has just been me getting my ass kicked, killed, or disappearing at a different time than everyone else and not being there when I'm needed. I'm pretty sure now is no different! And I can't even stand up straight to go and make things right." Ness fell silent. "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't expect you to understand."

 **Sonic helped Tails as the worn-out fox investigated what was happening throughout this world. In reality, Sonic was only there in case trouble arose. For speed is Sonic's game. But intelligence, in abundance, belongs to Tails. They were in the Central Highway when suddenly, a pair of feet came crashing down on Sonic. The figure turned and roundhouse kicked Tails. Tails pulled his electron cannon in reflex.**

"Who are you?" Tails asked. Before saying anything, the fighter kicked the gun to the sky. It was Tails' first time being disarmed.

"I am the Captain!" The fighter said before kicking Tails in the side of the neck. The fox's head hung over the Captain's shin. The Captain used his shin to slam Tails into the ground. "Douglas Jay Falcon. The honor is all yours." Falcon kicked Tails' body away from him before turning around to catch Sonic, who was flying toward him, in mid-air. Falcon held Sonic upside down by one leg. He unleashed an amazing one-fist barrage with his free hand in mere seconds. "Pathetic." Falcon said as he tossed Sonic aside. He turned around to see Tails firing an electron blast at him. He flips over the blast, hitting two kicks to Tails' head before landing. Before Tails could fall, he was uppercutted and sent skyward. Falcon leaped after him and performed the Falcon Dive. The explosion sent Tails shooting to the ground.

"Sonic, h-help." Tails peeked up to see Sonic stumbling away toward the Western Nexus. "Soni-" Falcon landed on Tails stomach. Blood shot into the air before Falcon lifted him by the head. He cocked his fist back and prepared to finish him off.

"FALCON-" Just then, Falcon noticed the twin tails hanging beneath the fox's feet. He lowered his fist. "HA!" He dropped Tails and walked away.

 **Link and Lloyd had awakened at the Tower of Salvation.**

"Ah! My head." Lloyd complained as he sat up.

"What the-" Link sat up holding his head "What happened?"

"Link, I could be wrong. This could very easily be the concussion, that I surely have by now, talking. But I'm pretty sure . . . we just caught a beatdown."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we just got our asses kicked."

 **Megaman sat on the grounds of Castle Wiley and contemplated all of his performance since coming to this world. We spawned a giant brick, an ability he'd acquired in his old battles. He held it firmly in front of him.**

"HUH-GAH!" He put his head through the boulder. He fell to the ground holding his head in disorientation.

 **Naruto walked into Hueco Mundo looking for Ichigo. He was surprised to see Ichigo bleeding out next to his weapon.**

"Ichigo!" Naruto ran up and cradled the soon-to-be corpse. "Who did this?" Ichigo could not speak, for risk of coughing up blood. "It was Mario, wasn't it? Your vision. It was true the entire time."

 **Kirby had snuck into Konoha. When he saw Fox and a badly beaten Mario, he quickly hid on a rooftop and went into stone form, waiting for something to happen; wanting the element of surprise before rushing into another fight. Fox was about to leave Konoha, but didn't want to be followed. Mario walked limp-leggedly toward him.**

"Are you seriously planning on running right now?" Mario said to Fox.

"No. I'm just a distraction." Fox answered. Hearing this, and reacting immediately, Mario turned around and swung at whatever was behind him. Falcon dodged it and short-hopped into a rising knee to the stomach. Mario was sent flying and skidding into the nearest building.

"Heard his bones crack on that one." The Captain said. With that, Fox fled. Falcon walked up to Mario, who was wedged into the broken wall. Blood streamed from his mouth. Falcon yanked him up and threw him to his feet. He was surprised the plumber could stand, although hardly. Mario's legs shook to keep him upright whenever he wasn't stumbling about. "Captain Douglas Jay Falcon, maybe you've heard of me. And if you haven't, don't worry. It'll be the last name you ever hear! FALCON!" The captain cocked his fist back. "PUNCH!" The Captain's fist met Mario's torso and obliterated his bones and organs. Mario's body flipped and flew upwards and back, landing on the far side of the roof. He landed next to the disguised Kirby. Kirby took a good look at Mario's body. Blood oozed from beneath it. His eyes were just slightly open and lifeless. His hat actually slid slightly off of his head. Something Kirby had never seen. He transformed back into his original form and bolted for the Eastern Nexus as fast as he could. As he phases through the stages on his way back to the Princess and Yoshi, he dreads the news he will have to give. His power of perception has been mastered with this experience. There is no doubt in his mind. Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom is Dead.

End of Act III

Haven't had enough, visit the author's page to read Act IV right now. Act V already inn progress!


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